Kaius Hospital Stay for Acute Kidney Injury

On July 4th, 2022, Kai was diagnosed with AKI, possibly due to severe dehydration combined with NSAID exposure. This is his story:

About two weeks before I rushed Kai to the emergency room, his sister was sick. we took her to urgent care after a few days of sore throat, coughing, fever, stuffy nose, etc. She tested negative for COVID, flu, and strep, so the doctor said it was an unspecified viral illness that we would treat symptoms until it worked its way out of her system. Of course, the illness made its way through the house, from Naomi, to myself, Kai, and then Kavaruss. We treated it with Tylenol and ibuprofen like we always do. We all got better when suddenly, two days later, on June 30th, Kai was sick again. He had a fever and was tired, then he started refusing his bottle. We were in contact with his pediatrician, who suggested pedialyte, water, and alternating children's Tylenol and Motrin. By Friday night, he stopped having pee diapers but was pooping fine. The doctor said his body was prioritizing and to just monitor it overnight. The next day, when he still hadn't peed (at this point, it had been about 18 hours) and he started vomiting, she suggested we go to urgent care. There, they gave him Zofran for nausea and then monitored him while he drank some water. He drank about an ounce, so they discharged him to go home.

I want to mention that with our daughter, we brought her to the emergency room for everything. I cannot tell you how many times we thought she might have a UTI or a blockage in her stomach; we probably went at least eight times in her short 3.5 years on this earth for what ended up being nothing. With our son, we were trying to avoid bringing him into the hospital if we could manage his sickness at home. So on Sunday, when he still hadn't had a pee diaper, we decided to leave his pediatrician alone, as she had been talking with us every day multiple times over the July 4th weekend. So we waited one more day. The next morning, I called her and told her he still had not peed. She urged us to go to the emergency room immediately.

The next few days were a whirlwind, and I don't remember much about them because there was so much information being thrown at us. We initially brought Kai to Wakemed, who ran tests after trying for over an hour to place an IV. Shortly after, the doctor told me as calmly as possible that my son's kidneys were not working and that he needed to see a specialist immediately. She called the UNC Chapel Hill Childrens Hospital to get him a bed and told me the transport was on their way to pick Kai up.

In the first 2 days we heard phrases such as 'kidney failure,' 'dialysis,' and 'months of recovery.' There were so many doctors and so many pricks, pokes, and tubes for my son. He got ultrasounds, x-rays, and countless lab workups done to assess his kidneys' injury. His renal function panel showed his numbers were absolutely off the charts. On the third day, they made the decision to place a vascular catheter for dialysis and a central line to get fluids and medicine into him better because his IVs kept failing. They did a kidney biopsy at the same time. This is how we found out the real cause of Kais kidney failure.

The doctors found that Kai has a very rare allergy to NSAIDs. While we were terrified and knew there was a long road ahead, Kavaruss and I had a small sigh of relief. We had been beating ourselves up, blaming ourselves for not knowing to not give ibuprofen to someone who is dehydrated. Blaming ourselves for not bringing him to the ER sooner. Racking our brains trying to figure out the exact amount of Motrin we had given him. But the doctors could now assure us there was absolutely nothing we did to cause this and nothing we could have done to prevent it, that it would have been inevitable because almost every parent gives their child ibuprofen at some point in their lives.

We would never have expected Kai to be in the hospital for this long. It has been 15 days, and while he is doing incredibly well now after a very bumpy road, we still have at least 3 more days here. This incident has been one of the most difficult things we have ever experienced. Not only was it terrifying to have this happen to Kai and not know if he would be okay, but we also haven't seen our daughter this entire time, and on top of that, just being on the PICU floor is extremely heavy and really sad. And, of course, this huge unexpected expense is terrifying and overwhelming. Just on food, gas, parking, and nearby sleeping accommodations, we have spent almost $2,500. That does not even take into consideration the hospital bill we will end up with, even after our insurance covers their portion.

Kai will make a full recovery and we were even able to avoid dialysis with only hours to spare. And yesterday for the first time in 15 days, Kai smiled. We have had an outpouring of support from our families, friends, and community, which we are eternally grateful for. Now we must lean on those resources again to help get us through this financial mountain. Anything you can give at all is greatly appreciated. Please watch the videos and check out the pictures we have included to see our little superheros journey.

Thank you,

Kais mom, Alyssa